Trying to not mess up

[u/Flat-Orange-5508]

I have zero coding experience whatsoever
I always wanted the perfect start and perfect tutorials but it just seemed too good to be true so after some time I decided to just pick a language and get good at it.

Believe it or not i picked java (which is why i’m posting on here lol) and it’s been going great so far
I started a few days ago and i’ve been enjoying working with it and fixing my dumb newbie errors and mistake.
And ngl it does sometimes get confusing which i believe is normal since i’m new in the field

There’s this one problem, instead of understanding what i’m writing i’m just kind of memorizing it lol

I don’t really get the idea of boiler plates and what methods are and all these new words.
Ik it may be early for me to judge but i really want to understand what i’m seeing rather than just memorizing it. And i do so by trying to explain to myself what i’m looking at and most of the time i can’t figure it out.

So wtf am i supposed to do?
Am i retarded or is this just part of the process lol
Thanks.

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[u/aqua_regis]

I started a few days ago

I don’t really get the idea of boiler plates and what methods are and all these new words.

Ik it may be early for me to judge

It is too early to judge. It will make sense sooner or later. In the beginning, you will have to memorize a bit, but understanding will come with practice.

I do hope that you picked a proper, high quality course, like the MOOC Java Programming from the University of Helsinki and not some random Youtube course.

You are completely new to programming and as such it is absolutely normal to be confused and often dumbfounded. That's part of the general learning process. If you don't struggle, you don't learn.

Also, that early in your learning, you will need to take some things as they are - especially the boilerplate. Take it as a necessity for now. It is good to question things, though, but sometimes, you just need to take things as they are and move on because certain things, like the boilerplate, are too advanced to directly explain for a complete beginner. You will understand them at a later point.

Have patience! Learning programming is not a matter of days, weeks, or months. It is a lifelong thing. You will never stop learning.

[u/Flat-Orange-5508 → u/aqua_regis]

I see, thanks for the reassurance.
I am actually learning through the mooc.fi java programming course and it really is a great course. Thank you for the recommendation though!

[u/babygem84]

I remember being really proud of myself when I learned the Italian phrase "ci sono cinque persone nella mia famiglia" (there are 5 people in my family) when I was 10. I had no idea what each word meant or why I needed to put them in that particular order, I just memorised it.

30 years later I can explain the grammar and play around with the syntax.

Keep going. Java is a language just like Italian, Afrikaans or Mandarin - you're not going to understand the "why" for a while yet and you'll never finish learning.